Notebook

7 days in Maui was just the right amount of vacation time to relax and cut off from regular life. This was my second trip to Hawaii and my fiancé's first, but both of our first time in Maui. It's a gorgeous island, it seems there are photo opportunities everywhere you go.

I'm taking a different, more measured approach to how I blog these days. I thought it would be good to jot these thoughts down here, mostly for me but also for anyone who is on the fence about starting a blog.

I'm an early riser, typically up between 5 or 5:30 AM weekdays and sometimes even on weekends. I like giving myself time in the morning to relax and wake up slowly. It's one of the few peaceful moments during my day where I am alone with nothing demanding my attention. I spend most mornings on the patio with my coffee and my RSS reader, listening to the world wake up around me.

There is also a short window of peace in the evenings, just after the dogs have been out for their last walk. 8PM, sometimes 9PM, it varies depending on our weeknight schedules. Different than mornings, but quiet and restful nonetheless. The dogs are lightly snoring, the TV isn't on, and my fiancé is is usually busy around the house with something or other.

Where do you find your peaceful moments?

September was a slog, and quite possibly the worst month in many years. Family passed, friends lost their jobs and my fiancé was bitten by a dog and had a scary few days in the hospital. There were a few bright spots there, but I’m just glad to see October hit and fall weather start to roll in.

I’ve not been reading as much as I’d like, even though I have a good backlog of books. I’m hoping to get through The Peripheral before the movie hits. Shocking I’ve never read that book before, it’s right up my alley on topic. I’ve also started pre-reading a good friends unreleased book.

Here are some links I ran across recently. Enjoy!

Headed up north to Los Padres National Forest just above Los Olivos for some camping and wine tasting. The views were amazing and we captured some great sunset photos. We stayed at Camp Figueroa, a new spot for us. Nestled near the top of the mountains, it was a crazy, windy and narrow uphill drive to get there.

Because this is my personal site, it’s basically in near constant flux. I adjust things over time to see what I think works best for me. I’ve decided to adjust how I handle links here.

Apple had their big iPhone event this week with several new product launches. Nothing came out that had me jonesing for new tech, and this got me thinking about my excitement around technology in general.

I've revisited my Day One app the past month and am finding it incredibly enjoyable to jot down thoughts again. It's incredibly helpful that I don't set any boundaries or expectations for myself in what I capture. Sometimes it's a simple sentence, others it's a photo. Getting into the habit again has got me feeling happy about writing things down.

Took a short, Level 1 camping overnight to Los Padres. Just me and The Eagle.